So... I currently have the engine out of my car, in the process of replacing fuel lines, shifter bushings, repainting engine tin and other general-maintenance things. In the course of cleaning up the hard-to-reach-with-the-engine-in stuff, I carefully poked into some of the aftermarket seam sealer a DAPO put over one of the trunk lid hinge mounts. I discovered cracks in the sheet metal of the mount, which is apparently what they were trying to cover up. Now I need to clean off the seam sealer so I can fix the mount.

Unfortunately, they were quite "generous" when spreading the seam sealer, and covered an area far greater than was really needed (well, was any of it really needed? ). I would like to clean off the seam sealer without destroying the original paint underneath. Do you have any suggestions? I can scrape the bulk of it off with a plastic spatula, but how do I get the residue off the paint without harming the paint?

BTW, I've found that penetrating oil (both Kroil and PB Blaster) work pretty nicely for removing spray-on undercoating without hurting the paint underneath. They do take a while to soak in and loosen the undercoating when it is on thick, and there are spots on this car that prove the DAPO must have gotten a huge bulk discount....

kerosene

Heat gun?

Heat gun and plastic putty knife

Heat gun and thin bladed metal scraper. (Send Rich's plastic thing home with melted artifacts. )

Or the power multi tool with the right flat edge attachment:

http://www.harborfreight.com/Variable-Spee...Tool-61219.html

...

Thanks for the tips, but some of these suggestions missed the point that I don't want to damage the paint under the seam sealer. I'm not trying to remove the factory sealer, I'm trying to remove the stuff a DAPO glopped all over the hinge mount. It extends from about 6" forward of the mount to about 2" behind the mount, and all the way up to the top of the panel. While I will have to repaint in the spots where I need to weld, the sealer covers a far larger area than will need to be repainted. I'm trying to minimize the damage, so I only have to touch-up the smallest area possible.

Thus why i said use a plastic scraper.

I also use plastic picnic knives sanded to shape for tight spaces.

Properly done the heat gun will soften the seam sealer, not bubble the paint.
The scraper will get off the bulk, then use mineral spirits, or lacquer thinner to wipe off the rest.